


Do You Want To Build a Snowman?

by EzraTheBlue



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Song Parody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 05:17:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1254268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/pseuds/EzraTheBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a thrashing in the Himalayas, Goku cheers his friends up the only way he knows how: Disney sing-alongs- wait, what? Rated for Gojyo's mouth. No pairings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Want To Build a Snowman?

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure fluff. Takes place after the current events in Reload: Blast, with my predictions for how it's going to play out. Just a stupid idea I had that wouldn't go away. I blame tumblr. Happy March, everyone! Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Saiyuki is property of Kazuya Minekura. The original “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” is from Disney's  _ Frozen _ , and is the property of its writers, directors, and the Mouse. The first three verses are exactly like the song, and the reprise verse (which is not in the movie, creative license on my part) is the same tune as the first verse, but without the last line. Use your imagination!

 

Goku loved new sights and sounds, or even smells, and the mountaintop temple grounds were full of those at the moment. In the aftermath of the youkai attack, the surviving residents of some of the outermost towns that had been under Sharak's protective shield had taken up residence in every spare spot the temple had to offer. So, tents were set up between buildings, sleeping mats occupying the sanctuaries and prayer rooms and every other room but the bathrooms, which now seemed to have lines around the corners every second of the day. He met new people every day, new smiling faces, some genuinely happy to see him, some smiling out of politeness, and the rare grouch who didn't want to make conversation at all. The air was bright with noise, men and women in conversation, monks and volunteers repairing broken walls and fences, children at play.

Children! That was the best part. Goku got to play with the children as much as he wanted; in fact, Sharak had encouraged it. “Keep them out of the way,” she'd told him, then muttered something that sounded like “and yourself,” but Goku wasn't quite sure what that had meant. He didn't want to think about it too hard. It had snowed last night, anyway, and who could be miserable when there was snow! Once he'd gotten over how quiet the world was when snow was on it, Goku had found that he quite liked snow; Gojyo had even once asked him if he'd been a mountain monkey in a previous life. (Goku had punched him in the jaw and called him a sewer kappa, a comeback in which he still took immense pride.) What wasn't to like, anyway? The temple yards were beautiful, pristine white, like a great blanket had been thrown over it; or at least, they had been. Now, the blanket was tamped down with footprints and shovels, and Goku grinned to think of all the pillow fights they could have on a bed that big. Lacking pillows, however, he and the visiting children settled for playing in the snow.

The afternoon was getting late now, and while he'd spent the day having snowball fights in the yard, playing tag, and leading games of hide-and-seek, most of the children had tired out or been called back to their families. Now, he was laying out in the snow by himself in one of his earlier snow angels, disturbed by his romp with the crowd, listening to the sounds of the temple settling. It was a quiet sort of noise, the conversation dropped to a low rumble: peaceful. Goku liked peaceful; anything was better than the chaos of the past few days.

It had been three days since the attack, and though keeping the children busy had kept him busy as well, it had given him very little time to see his friends. He knew where they were; Hakkai had, once he was able to get on his feet, volunteered himself to help take care of everyone, like he always did, and was running himself ragged helping nurse the injured, laundering clothes, cooking meals, and crashing into bed after twenty hours of work or when Gojyo forced him to. Gojyo had been oddly subdued after the fight, shaken up and pale when he'd half-carried Hakkai in. Now, he seemed to spend a lot of time lazing around by himself, fingering the piercings on the crests of his ear or toying with the steel rings Sharak had given him. Goku wasn't sure what had motivated him to get new jewelry all of a sudden, but when he tried to get a closer look at Gojyo's cool new earrings, Gojyo shoved him off and walked away, fists clenched at his sides. And Sanzo...

Goku swallowed and closed his eyes, shutting out the peachy glow of the slowly descending sun. Thinking about Sanzo wasn't easy. He'd been gravely injured, and had been on the verge of bleeding out when Goku reached him. Goku had no memory of what had happened between when he'd found Sanzo and when he next woke, but Sharak had assured him that he'd kept his limiter on, and really, that was enough. Sanzo was now bedded down in his private quarters, and was refusing food and company. Anyone who knocked was turned away with a growl and a threat, unless it was Hakkai to change his bandages.

That just wasn't right. Sanzo might have been a surly little hedgehog, but Goku knew hedgehogs had soft, fuzzy bellies that needed the occasional rub. In fact, all of his friends could use a little rub right now, or something, anything to cheer them all up. The four of them hadn't had one conversation together since the attack- he'd scarcely even seen Gojyo and Hakkai together, and they all seemed to be dancing right around him, and everyone seemed so flat. Goku didn't get what had happened, but it was starting to annoy him.

Kids were great and all, but he wanted his playmates back!

He rolled up to a sit when he heard a few voices floating across the field, muffled by the snow, but still clear enough for him to hear, and recognized some of the children from before. They were singing, a song he'd heard a few times as well, but only from them. When he'd asked about it, they told him it was from a show they'd seen in the city back when they were still allowed to visit, when the roads were still safe enough, and they'd even taught him the words.

And that was where he got the idea.

He hopped up to his feet, running through syllable and beat in his mind, switching the words around and testing them. He flipped lyrics around in his mind as he skipped along the path to the laundry room, around workmen carrying emptied lunch pails and tool boxes, over patches of ice and shoveled piles of snow. All the while, he was grinning, just thinking to himself,  _'They won't be able to say no!'_

Hakkai was where he had been, or at least where he was most often; helping with the laundry. There were lots of clothes that needed washing, or folding, or stain removal, and many, many silks and linens in need of new seams. As such, that was where Goku found him, hair slicked back under a bandanna, rubbing his hands raw on a washboard in a tub of steaming, soapy water. He was the only one there, but smiled when Goku's footsteps sounded at the door.

“Can you please bring me a fresh kettle, and some chalk? There's this one stubborn spot that-” He looked up, and his smile didn't shift. Not even a little. “Oh. Hello, Goku.” He turned back down to the washtub. “Did you have fun today? Were you going to get some dinner?”

“I guess I'm kinda hungry, but I still wanna play!” Goku grinned, and bounced on the balls of his feet. Hakkai's smile and voice both took an exhausted edge.

“I see.” He splashed the beige fabric in and out of the water again, rubbing it hard against the washboard. “The sun will go down soon, and it will get much colder. You should go in from playing before it gets too dark, but I suppose as long as you've got the energy-”

“Hakkai?” Goku tiptoed the rest of the way into the room. “Uh, can I ask you something?”

“Ah, ask away!” Hakkai smiled his usual, bright smile, the one he offered everybody without restraint, the one that sometimes seemed like it would crack if he were forcing it any harder. Goku took two steps forward, grabbed Hakkai's arm, and asked-

No, asking wasn't enough. He sang it.

_“Do you want to build a snowman?  
_ _We all can go have fun!”_ He tugged Hakkai's arm a few times, and Hakkai's eyebrows vanished into his hairline.

“Goku-” And Goku yanked him harder, pulling his arm out of the wash basin.

_“You've already done chores all day!_  
 _Put that away!”_ He grinned, not caring that Hakkai was soaked to the elbow as he pulled him towards the door, and cheekily added,  
_“I'll make Sanzo leave his gun!”_

Hakkai sighed, and tried to pull away. “I really-”

_“We ain't played in forever,_  
 _It's been so long.”_ Hakkai gave pause at the hint of somber in the line, at the hint of sadness under the mischievous twinkle in Goku's eye, but he still smiled to belt out:   
_“I think we all need some glee!”_ He gave Hakkai a pull out into the hallway, sending him crashing nearly into the wall. Hakkai yelped but caught himself, just as Goku asked again:

_“So won't you come and build a snowman?”_ He winked, as Hakkai winced hard and doubled over. Goku pulled him upright, offering his most earnest smile.  
_“Don't you have time for just one snowman?”_

And Hakkai broke Goku's grip on his arms with his wrists, spinning him off and pushing him away. “Goku, no.” He hung his head. “I'm sorry. Some other time.” He turned himself back towards the laundry room, avoiding the hurt in those big golden eyes with a sideways glance over his shoulder. “Go ask Gojyo. He could use the exercise.” He shut the door to the laundry room behind him, leaving Goku slumped over and staring at the sliding screen, wide jaw hung wider. Goku, to his credit, recovered and wiped his damp hands off on his pants, and shuffled away, just mumbling the last line of the verse;

_“Fine by me...”_

He could hazard a guess as to where Gojyo had holed himself up; after all, he, too, had been in the same place for the last few days. He wouldn't be hanging in the kitchen, guzzling hot sake from the bubbling pots, nor loitering near the medical stations and flirting with the volunteering nurses. Those were certainly things he should have been doing, but he wasn't. Instead, Goku found him in the common room, in a chair by the fireplace. He twisted one of the rings on his middle finger as the flames consumed a log, the fire reflected in his squinted eyes. Goku noticed him shifting the ring up towards his lower knuckle, then shoving it right back down. He couldn't help but wonder where Gojyo had gotten such cool jewelry, or why he was fidgeting with it so much, but he was much more interested in sneaking up behind Gojyo with his sneakiest tiptoe. Gojyo didn't even hear him coming, until the floor creaked behind him and he snapped upright, but Goku pinned the back of the chair to the floor, dropping Gojyo to ground and standing over him with a huge grin. Gojyo's jaw fell.

“What the fuck, mini-monkey?!” But Goku wouldn't be abated, and sang:

_“Do you want to build a snowman?  
_ _Or do some sparring in the yard?”_ He throttled Gojyo's chest, and Gojyo shoved him off and jumped up to a stand. Goku didn't see him catch his head as he spun round him, singing.

“ _Then we can have a great big snowball fight!”_ He imitated the throwing of a snowball, as Gojyo slicked his hair back into place and fixed his headband, lips set dispassionately thin. Goku didn't even notice the mild disgust Gojyo was directing at him.  
 _“And you can win, alright?”_ He chuckled into both hands.   
_“Heck, I won't try that hard!”_

“You wanna build snowmen, huh?” Gojyo scratched his head. “Uh... and spar?” His eyes sank to the rings on his fingers. Goku hooked his arm around Gojyo's, and elbowed his ribs.

_“You and me can make some new friends  
_ _Just me and you!”_ Gojyo frowned- 'new friends?' Why Goku would need new friends? He couldn't read what was under his cheeky grin, especially with that always hungry mouth wide open and barely on key:  _“And then you can kick my butt!”_

Gojyo shuddered, even when Goku grabbed both of his elbows and started to yank on him, rhythmically chanting, “Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!”

“Goku.” Gojyo rooted himself to the spot. “Look, that sounds awesome, but I'm tired.” Goku stopped pulling, and Gojyo shrugged him off.

“You've been tired for days. You were so much more fun before the fight.” Goku's gaze flitted up and down Gojyo's form. “Plus, you stink. Your jacket smells all gross. Is that it? You want Hakkai to wash your jacket first?” Goku reached for Gojyo's jacket collar. “He won't stop doing chores anyway-” Goku's fingers landed on Gojyo's jacket, and Gojyo caught his hands and squeezed his fingers. “Ow, dude!”

“Shit-!” Gojyo released him and stumbled back. “I didn't mean-”

“Hehe, you surprised me!” Goku beamed, shaking his hand off. “You got a strong grip- probably 'cause you have to grip yourself every night to keep yourself company.” Gojyo slouched, staring at the rings on his fingers again. Goku had expected some sort of defensive retort, but breezed right past the lack thereof. “So, are we gonna-”

“No way, dude. I told you. I'm tired.” Gojyo picked the chair back up, setting it down like one would lay a baby in a crib, and collapsed into it. “My head hurts. I guess I'm still getting used to- still recovering. Later, okay?” He heard the door slap the doorjamb, and realized Goku was already gone.

Fine. Gojyo wouldn't play with him, and Hakkai was too busy. Goku rubbed his nose dry, eyes narrowed as he fixed on his last target and ran towards it. Sanzo wouldn't say no, not if he was being a big enough pest. Sanzo would get out of bed and humor him just to shut him up, or at least that's what he'd say. _'Just to shut you up.'_ Except he never meant it. He knew Sanzo well enough to know that. Goku knew exactly where his sensitive, soft parts were. Even if Hakkai and Gojyo wouldn't accept his belly rubs, Sanzo would roll right over!

He threw the door open, the light from the hallway turning tail at the darkened room with its drawn blinds, and opened his arms and smile wide. “SANZO!”

There was gunfire, and Goku felt the bullet whiz past his right ear. He stopped smiling. Sanzo had bolted directly upright from the pallet, panting for breath like he'd run over a mountain, eyes wide and bloodshot. Goku could see all the bandages wrapping his bare chest and arms, the gauze patched on over his bloodied eye, the burns on his trembling fingers. He stopped dead in his tracks. Sanzo's clothes, his shirt and his jeans, were folded at the bedside, but the Maten sutra was conspicuously absent.

And Goku remembered why Sanzo didn't want to talk to him.

_“Please, give it back! Someone give it back! It's his, he needs it, it's something precious to him-”_

_“Shut up. Shut up! Shut up, you stupid-”_

“What,” Sanzo growled, gun still in his outstretched hand. “Do you. Want?”

Goku tried, but it stuck in his throat. The barrel trained onto his head. He tried, speaking slowly, “D-do... do you want to build-” The hammer cocked, and Goku flinched. “Sanzo, put the gun away!”

Sanzo's arm started to lower, then dropped limp into his lap. He stared at Goku, features darker than the lightless room, an expectant glower emanating from brow to chin, but something else entirely in his hunched shoulders, his ragged breathing, and the way his eyes darted between Goku, the door, and the window. Goku's hands dropped to his sides, and he slouched over too. Sanzo repeated it, steadier this time: “What do you want?”

“S-Sanzo-” Goku swallowed, and forced the song out of himself, atonally, muffled by his lowered head.  _“D-do you want to build a snowman?_  
 _Or go do something fun like that?”_ He swallowed, as Sanzo's eyes narrowed, and Goku folded his arms and looked down at his feet.   
_“I know you're mad and so you shut me out_  
 _'Cause it's all hopeless now  
_ _And I'm a stupid monkey brat.”_

He managed to look up, past Sanzo, to the tiny, thin shafts of light that were almost snuffed by the blinds, as Sanzo tilted his head down to glare at the gun in his hands or his knees or anything but Goku. Goku took a breath, and found the tune again.

_“But I don't think you'll feel better  
_ _Closed off in here  
_ _Sitting there all alone...”_ Goku studied Sanzo, as he refused to make eye contact, shutting out even the little light reflecting from those night-sky purple eyes, and he turned on his heel to face away.  
 _“But I guess I can make a snowman...”_ He dropped the tune and his head. “On my own.” He ran away, teeth gritted, not even bothering to shut the door behind him, and Sanzo didn't move.

Was it his fault? Was it because he hadn't been there to protect him? Were Hakkai and Gojyo messed up because he hadn't been there to help? Maybe it was his fault he had nobody to play with. It didn't matter. Clearly, they didn't want him or need him to cheer them up. He lowered his head and ran a little faster. He'd show them. He'd have fun by himself. If they didn't need him, then why should he need them?

He didn't even see Sharak as he sped past her. She turned her head to track him with her eyes, then strode up to Sanzo's open door. He was tugging at the bandages on his arm, and she clicked her tongue. “You'll make it worse.”

“Hmph.” He tugged a loose strand of gauze off and tore it off with his teeth. Sharak shook her head and strode into the room, and plopped herself down at his bedside, crosslegged and glaring at him. “Get out.”

“No.” She set her cheek on her fist. “It's pitiful. The legendary Sanzo party escapes this battle with their lives, but falls apart at the doorstep of Houtou Castle because they want to have personal pity parties.” She clicked her tongue a few times. “Well, do what you want. It's your decision. Nobody's going to force you if they ripped your will out when that prince took the sutra off you.” She started to get to her feet, and Sanzo reached for his shirt. “Oh, now you have energy?”

“There's something I want to do,” he growled, and began to dress himself. Sharak smirked.

“Let me get you something a little warmer to wear.”

* * *

 

Hakkai tried to nod his monocle back into place as he strode down the hall in the direction he'd last seen Goku travel, arms overflowing with old clothes, hats and scarves and shirts beyond mending. With his monocle slipping off and his hands too full to fix it, it was no surprise he didn't see Gojyo approaching out of the periphery of his vision until the two nearly collided.

“Whoa, man!” Gojyo chuckled and caught Hakkai's arm before he could knock into him. “Looks like you got loaded in all the wrong ways.” He picked a few of the clothes off of Hakkai's stack, and Hakkai laughed nervously.

“Sorry, I didn't-”

“It's cool.” Gojyo tossed one of the scarves around his neck. “So, uh, this clean or dirty? Where we takin' it?”

“Oh, it's all garbage.” Hakkai's gaze traveled the pile. “But Goku asked me to build a snowman with him, and I felt badly for refusing. I thought I would at least get him some things to dress them with while you two...” Hakkai noticed Gojyo's gaze travel away. “He did ask you, didn't he?”

“Yeah, sure did.” Gojyo smirked. “Singing like an idiot. I remember that movie, too. Kid shit, but the queen was hot.” He squeezed the clothes tighter to his chest. “Uh, why did you say no?”

Hakkai was quiet for a minute, shuffled his feet once or twice and tried to avoid Gojyo's inquisitive stare. “Er... It's just, I can't get all the blood off of Sanzo's robe.” Gojyo's head inclined, and Hakkai shook his head side to side. “I try and try, but it won't come out. Besides, I'm helping Sharak take care of all these people-”

“Since you think we didn't help enough already,” Gojyo spat, and dropped the clothes. “Because of me, right?” Hakkai didn't respond, bowing his head to hide his eyes behind his hair, and Gojyo shoved his hands in his pockets. “If that's it, then say so, man.”

“No, Gojyo, it's nothing like that. It has nothing to do with you at all.”

“Let me see it.” Hakkai's head shot up.

“What?”

“Let me see!” Gojyo lunged forward and yanked Hakkai's shirt up, sending old clothes flying as Hakkai's arms flew up to follow the motion. He examined the patch of gauze covering the area over Hakkai's old scars. Hakkai winced when Gojyo patted the gauze. “At least it's dry this time. Everything you do for everyone else, and you can't even fix you. You didn't want him to catch you nursing this, right? For my sake?”

Hakkai pushed Gojyo's hands off, and Gojyo stumbled back. “Gojyo, why didn't you play with him?” He set his hands on his waist, smile gone, hips cocked. Gojyo was taken aback, eyebrows raised, then shoved his hands back into his pockets.

“Didn't feel like it.” He lowered his head- it was starting to feel heavy.

“Gojyo.” Gojyo could sense the scolding coming on.

“Lay off! You're not my mom!” He balled his hands into fists, thrusting them deep into his pockets.

“Thank heavens for that, but you're not answering my question.” Hakkai inched closer. “Are you cleaning the piercing hole?”

“Yes.” Gojyo turned his ear away.

“Have your energy levels evened out?” Hakkai reached out and touched his bare wrist, and Gojyo shivered as a tendril of his chi roamed over him. “I don't feel any youki, but your own life energy is through the floor.”

“Can we not have this conversation right fu-”

It was at that moment that Hakkai ducked, and Gojyo whipped around just in time to get a rolled up newspaper to the face. He sputtered for a moment, as Sanzo glared at him and threw the substitute harisen aside.

“You two. Idiots. What the hell are you doing?” Both Gojyo and Hakkai raised their eyebrows to see Sanzo dressed in civilian clothes, but both of them knew better than to say a word about it.

“Oh, Sanzo, you're up!” Hakkai straightened up, smiling again. “Are your injuries healing alright? Did you need something?”

“I asked what you were doing.” Sanzo set his hands on his hips, wincing as he shifted his shoulder. Hakkai reached out, knowing how heavily it was bandaged, but Sanzo caught his fingers. “I can answer it, since you won't. You're making a huge mess-” he pointed to the clothes scattered around them- “and making a racket. If you're not doing anything else, you're coming with me.”

“Sanzo-”

“Where the hell are you going like that?” Gojyo drew himself up to his full height and glared down at Sanzo. “You're just this side of a bloody fucking pulp, you wanna drive down to that fortress now?”

Sanzo met Gojyo's glare with equal force, then snapped a hand up to the limiter on his ear. Gojyo winced when Sanzo pulled on it, but leaned into his force so it wouldn't come off. “Hakkai, why didn't you tell me about this?”

“I didn't think it worth mentioning. Not until I was sure.” Hakkai glanced away, and Sanzo's glare hardened. His breath hitched, and he added, “I suppose I thought it would just go away if I ignored it.” Hakkai folded his hands in front of him, as Sanzo tugged the limiter on Gojyo's ear again.

“If his life energy is that low, he's wearing too many limiters.” His eyes traveled to the three on Hakkai's ear. “You have just enough to suppress your youki. He got that and asked Sharak for more.”

“You son of a-” Gojyo flinched when Sanzo tugged the limiter again. “How the fuck do yo-”

“She told me, two days ago.” And Sanzo pinned Gojyo to the wall, pulled his arm from his pocket, and exposed the ring to Hakkai. “Take it off of him.”

Hakkai didn't have to be told twice. He slid the ring off, and Gojyo cringed. He only opened his eyes after a moment, and Sanzo released him, and he looked at his hands. “I'm... not a youkai.”

“No.” Hakkai smiled and pocketed the ring. “You are not.”

“Were you that scared of hurting someone?” Sanzo backed off when Gojyo took a swing at him, teeth gritted.

“Asshole, I-”

“Do you have any more energy now?” Gojyo froze as Sanzo folded his arms. “Do you have the energy to go entertain Goku now?”

“Is that what this is all about?”

“You.” Sanzo ignored Gojyo's question and turned to Hakkai. “I know you haven't been resting. Do I have to make you take care of yourself?”

Hakkai folded his arms. “Sanzo, I'm-”

“Full of shit.” Sanzo sneered, upper lip curling. “Newsflash- ignoring your problems won't make them go away.” He planted his palm on the wall beside Hakkai's head. “You're frustrated with me. You're still injured. You feel like a failure for not keeping him sane and me safe. You're shutting yourself in with the things you know you're good at without even trying. Must I go on?”

“My, you are talkative today, aren't you?” Hakkai giggled, and Sanzo slammed his hand on the wall to get his attention.

“Do you want things to get better?”

“Must you ask?” Hakkai gingerly pulled Sanzo's hand off the wall. “I would very much like for things to return to normal, or whatever passes for normal for us.”

“Then let's go.” Sanzo scooped up some of the dropped clothes, and turned to stalk away. Both Hakkai and Gojyo started, then traded a glance and stopped.

“Go where?” Gojyo held his hands out, and Sanzo turned slowly to glower at him, head canting back, eyes narrow, and spoke as if to a very simple child.

“Monkeys are social creatures. Ours has been alone long enough. I'm going to build a snowman, and you are coming with me.” He stormed off, shoulders back and neck hunched forward. Hakkai and Gojyo traded dubious glances.

“I'm sorry,” Hakkai mouthed, and set his hand on Gojyo's shoulder.

“Me too.” Gojyo replied under his breath, and squeezed Hakkai's shoulder in return- harder than Hakkai remembered the gesture, but not too hard. “Come on, man, I got the weirdest urge to go have a snowball fight.” He broke away and chased Sanzo, and Hakkai chuckled softly and followed.

“My, Goku won't even see this coming.”

* * *

 

Goku sat and watched the sun setting over the crest of the mountain from the last stretch of untouched snow he could find, knees curled into his chest, nose and mouth buried in the front of his winter jacket. A small pile of snow sat in front of him; he'd started to build a snowman, but he lost any motivation to do so about thirty seconds in. It just wasn't as much fun as it was with someone else to do it with you. He was starting to get the feeling that he was going to be alone way too much from here on out. He was also starting to catch the notion that they were going to be at this temple for a very long time.

If he was going to watch the sun set on this snowy mountaintop until things were fixed, he might as well learn to like it now.

He didn't see the three others watching him from the porch; Hakkai shaking his head piteously, Gojyo with an elbow jutting back from his hip and his upper lip curled in a sneer, and Sanzo with his arms folded tight around the pile of spare clothes. They hadn't had a long walk, but it was long enough for Sanzo to form and disseminate a plan. The sight of Goku huddled up in the snow stopped all of them, for lack of a better word, cold.

“This is just sad,” Gojyo grumbled, and shook his head.

“Goku's not supposed to sulk.” Hakkai's gaze flitted to Sanzo, then back to Goku's back. “I don't feel normal when he's so obviously down. It means I've clearly done something wrong.”

“Damn right.” Sanzo shoved the clothes at Hakkai. “You first. Like I told you. Go cheer him up.”

“I- I don't-” Hakkai fumbled with the clothes. “I never do-”

“You do today.”

“Sanzo, really-” _CLICK._ Hakkai was suddenly treated to an intimate view of the inside of Sanzo's gun's barrel, and he laughed to himself. “Well, if you insist.”

Goku heard crunching footsteps behind him, and felt the soft rush of air from a larger body settling alongside his. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and heard Hakkai speak.

No, not speak. Speaking wasn't enough. Instead, he softly, gently, slowly sang:

_“Weren't you going to build a snowman?”_ Hakkai set some of the hats and scarves on his knees. _“I have all the clothes right here...”_

Goku looked at the clothes, then, bewildered, up at Hakkai. He didn't have time to question it, when he felt two big, powerful hands clap his shoulders and heard Gojyo boisterously cant his way in:

_“Come on , let's go! You're wasting light!  
_ _And next, we'll fight!”_ He hoisted Goku to his feet and pinned his arms back in the crook of his elbow, eliciting a panicked, but not pained squeal, and Gojyo finished with Goku halfway under his arm: _“I'll kick your monkey rear!”_

“Guys, what the hell?!” Goku laughed as Gojyo dropped him, and stumbled back. He gazed in disbelief between the two of them, caught between elation and confusion. “I thought- I didn't-”

_“Idiot monkey.”_ Goku froze when he heard Sanzo singing timidly, atonally, behind him, and turned to face him. Sanzo set a hand on his head. _“You called for us. Now what do you want to do?”_

Sanzo and Goku traded gazes, Goku unsure of what to say, Sanzo knowing he didn't have to say anything else. Finally, Goku grinned, and finished the verse: _“I think I wanna build a snowman!”_  He seized Sanzo's hand. “With you!”

“Then let's get on it. Sharak didn't give me any gloves.” Sanzo knelt down at the pile Goku had started, and Goku squealed with glee.

“You guys! Thank you, thank you so much!” He hopped up and down, and Gojyo laughed and poked his ribs.

“Less talky, more roll-y snow-y, monkey.” He picked up a handful of the powder. “It's nice and thick, too! Perfect. Hey, if we're here tomorrow, I'll handle all those little brats with ya!” He grinned and started to roll the snow in his hands into a ball. “You and me, kickass snow fort!”

“Not with that awful jacket in the wash,” Hakkai reminded him, then quietly added with his usual polite snark, “Which I won't be doing. Even I won't touch that thing right now.”

Goku piped in, “You know you don't have a marker when you're wearing the limiters, right?” Gojyo flinched- so he _had_ noticed. Goku only smiled. “It's okay. Your limiters are cooler than mine is anyway- they don't look heavy at all!”

“Noisy morons,” Sanzo groused, “pay attention to your work, or it'll be lopsided.” Gojyo sniffed, and Goku giggled, but both replied with varying degrees of sarcasm;

“Yes, boss.”

The four of them together rolled up a snowman, gave him two sticks for arms, a face and big smile of buttons and rocks, and dressed him in a white shirt, orange scarf, and a yellow hat. Gojyo gingerly avoided contact with Hakkai's midsection, and Goku danced around Sanzo to keep from disturbing any of the many, many bandages covering him. They didn't talk much except for “Put this here” or “It's uneven there,” but they'd known each other long enough that whatever issues they had to talk about didn't need to come out here, or now. Besides that, they understood each other. All they needed was one thing:

“We'll be okay, right?” Goku looked up at Sanzo from his side the four of them surveyed their work. Gojyo grinned and nudged Hakkai's side.

“I thought we were building a snowman, not a snow-monkey.”

Hakkai nudged him back. “Hush. This is supposed to be a quiet moment.”

“S-Sanzo?” Goku tugged his sleeve, and Sanzo set his palm on his head and ruffled the hair, spiking it in a few new directions.

“We are. Thank you.” He folded his hands behind his back. “Hakkai, I'm going to need you to get my robe out of the washtub and get it dried, and get someone to wash the rest of our clothes while you're at it. We're leaving as soon as we're ready.”

“Of course.” Hakkai smiled, eyes still fixed forward so Goku could tell it was genuine, and wrapped arms around both Gojyo and Goku's shoulders. Sanzo hummed under his breath, and rested a hand on Goku's shoulder.

“You'd better be alright with that.” His voice was much less forbidding than he intended it to be, and Goku was okay with that.

“Right.” Goku beamed, and the four stood together, watching the sun sink away.

Bellies rubbed, and a party reunited, the Sanzo party left their snowman behind to melt in the next morning's sunrise. No matter what they'd had to go through to get there or where they would go next, Goku was just happy to have his familiar surroundings back. It was almost amazing what a little song and dance could do for world-weary souls.

 


End file.
